Lixisenatide Cuts Kidney Damage in T2DM and Coronary Syndrome

HealthDay News — For patients with type 2 diabetes and acute coronary syndrome, lixisenatide can slow or prevent damage to the kidneys, according to a study published online October 3 in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. The research was published to coincide with the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, held from October 1 to 5 in Berlin.

Marcel H.A. Muskiet, MD, from the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam, and colleagues conducted a randomized trial at 828 sites in 49 countries. Patients with type 2 diabetes and a recent coronary artery event were randomized to a daily subcutaneous injection of lixisenatide or volume-matched placebo in addition to usual care. The percentage change in urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) and estimated glomerular filtration rate were assessed according to prespecified albuminuria status at baseline. Baseline UACR data were available for 5,978 patients.

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Overall, 74, 19, and 7% of participants had normoalbuminuria, microalbuminuria, and macroalbuminuria at baseline. The researchers found that the placebo-adjusted least-squares mean percentage change in UACR from baseline with lixisenatide was −1.69% (P=.7398), −21.20% (P=.0502), and −39.18% (P=.0070) for patients with normoalbuminuria, microalbuminuria, and macroalbuminuria, respectively, after 108 weeks of follow-up. When adjusted for baseline hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) or baseline and on-trial HbA1c, lixisenatide was associated with reduced risk for new-onset macroalbuminuria.

“Lixisenatide reduces progression of UACR in macroalbuminuric patients, and is associated with a lower risk of new-onset macroalbuminuria after adjustment for baseline and on-trial HbA1c and other traditional renal risk factors,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to pharmaceutical companies, including Sanofi, which manufactures lixisenatide and funded the study.